Dear Editor,

AS much as families, community members and leaders play a significant role in a child’s development, mainstream media representation of the genders has a large impact on the ways in which they are socialised. Young people are very vulnerable to the messages they consume through the media and unfortunately; media tends to promote harmful gender norms and stereotypes.

In examining media representations of men, often they are portrayed as utilising aggression and violence as a means to end conflict. They are also regularly portrayed as being associated with the public sphere of work while women are represented in the home. These portrayals play into harmful stereotypes concerning things such as masculinity and power, and the place of women.

As a result, young boys continue to be raised with the idea that they can solve problems through violence and that housework is the realm of women, and as such, not something that they can or should do. The skills of managing a home is valuable for any person regardless of gender, and aggression is not the best way to solve conflict but rather tends to cause even more interpersonal disagreements and harm. It is also important for boys and men to be taught that involvement in the home does not begin and end with financial support, but also with the emotional support that they are able to provide for their children and partners.

There needs to be a significant shift away from the way that men are portrayed in the media as it impacts the way that they operate in relationships, the home environment and other social spaces. In increasing positive representations of men in the media, particularly as it relates to their involvement in the home and their interpersonal relationships, there can be progress in diluting some of the harmful notions that have been embraced by many males and which contributes to high levels of family violence within our society.

Akola Thompson
Blue Umbrella Consultant, ChildLinK

To report or seek counseling, please call 914/227-0979/227-2023/233-3500